Month: December 2021

Preparedness Notes for Friday — December 24, 2021

On December 24, 1971, 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke was flying over the Peruvian rainforest with her mother when her plane was hit by lightning. She miraculously survived a two-mile fall, still strapped in her seat. She found herself alone in the jungle. After 10 days of walking out from the crash site, she was rescued by a group of rainforest loggers. SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 98 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. …


The Hornady Lock N Load AP Progressive Reloading Press – Part 1, by Wingfootjr

This is a reader’s review of The Hornady Lock N Load AP progressive reloading press. LEGAL DISCLAMER: I am not employed by, or financially reimbursed by any manufacturer I mention in this article. I am simply stating what I have found works for me. Your mileage may vary. SAFETY DISCLAIMER: Always follow all handloading safety standard protocols and checks as outlined in a bullet manufacturer’s handloading manual. Know the proper aspects of all functions you are performing and if unsure, consult the manufacturer via email or other means of communication until you clearly understand the correct and proper method of …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

In place of my usual news items and commentary on economics and the markets, I have some annual housekeeping to do: My Annual Financial/Investing/Foreign Interests Disclosures: By Federal law, I am obliged to make the following annual public disclosures. For the record: I am presently the sole author of SurvivalBlog’s twice-weekly posted Economics & Investing For Preppers column. I am not a paid investment counselor or adviser. Please see our Provisos page for our detailed disclaimers. My paid consulting is primarily on preparedness, relocation, retreat property development, and related topics–not on investing, per se. Personal and Family Interests My highest loyalty …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Oh my name is Francis Tolliver, I come from Liverpool Two years ago the war was waiting for me after school From Belgium and to Flanders, Germany to here I fought for King and country I love dear Twas Christmas in the trenches and the frost so bitter hung The frozen fields of France where still no Christmas songs were sung Our families back in England were toasting us that day There brave and glorious lads so far away I was lying with my mess mates on the cold and rocky ground When across the lines of battle came a …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — December 23, 2021

December 23rd is the birthday of Founding Father and Supreme Court Justice John Jay. (Born 1745, died May 17, 1829.) Today is also the anniversary of the establishment of the exclusive private banking cartel known as The Federal Reserve, in 1913. I recommend the book The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve. — A word of warning: A look at the Ventusky weather models shows that a polar vortex is likely to hit much of the interior of CONUS in the first week of January. Temperatures may be 20 degrees F. or more below normal.  …


A Scanner for TEOTWAWKI – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) External Antennas, Detecting Potential threats at greater distances When using a scanner to sweep the band, or scan a list of frequencies, the scanner is much more sensitive and hears weak signals as well as strong signals. When using the Close Call feature that also sweeps the band, only strong signals that are very nearby (within 100 to 200 yards), might be detected. Some brands of scanners other than Uniden, may also have a similar Close Call feature, and might have more a sensitive receiver Sofware Defined Radio (SDR) frequency counter or …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian Web Designer Learns Anti-Tank Tactics Tim J. found this at Yahoo News, of all places: In east Ukraine, a web designer …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 22, 2021

December 22nd is the anniversary of the death of SP4 James T. Davis, the first uniformed American combat casualty of the Vietnam War, in 1961. This ASA soldier (of the 3rd Radio Research Unit) was killed in a Viet Cong ambush on a road outside Saigon. — The folks at Palmetto State Armory (one of our affiliate advertisers) are wrapping up their AR-15 Days of Christmas sale. One of the featured items in their sale: SIG-Sauer Complete Fire Control Unit (FCU) for SIG P320 Pistols for just $349.99 each, with free shipping.  An FFL is required. At their site, paste this …


A Scanner for TEOTWAWKI – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) ‘Sweeping’ a Band If one can afford to buy several scanners, then that would be optimal. We should have at least three, given the old adage: “3 is 2, and 2 is 1, and 1 is none.” We can keep one spare scanner in a Faraday cage, and store it elsewhere. Then use the other two scanners: One to scan from a list, and the other to sweep the band, or particular parts of a band. Each scanner will have an operator’s manual to help. If I could only sweep one band, then it would be …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — F.J. wrote to mention a Kentucky family that survived the catastrophic December 10 storms and tornadoes by taking refuge in a prefabricated underground storm shelter. o  o  o For those looking for American-made products, reader H.L. recommended this site: Mammoth Nation. o  o  o Speaking of American-made, a couple that reads SurvivalBlog runs a small …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 21, 2021

On December 21, 1620, William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts. — Today, on the Winter Solstice, I reflected a bit on the trauma of the past two years. Our lives, livelihoods, and our liberties suffered some. I’m hopeful that 2022 will be a much better year.  Tomorrow, the days will start getting longer again. Already, we are making some spring gardening plans and looking forward to lambing and calving season. We will trust in the Lord, and his providence. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry …


A Scanner for TEOTWAWKI – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

Introduction: Why Should We Use A Scanner? To most people, scanners could not be any more sublimely unimportant, and boring, and completely irrelevant pursuit of yesteryear. Especially as we have aged, and because the age of digital radio is here. Apparently, our old dusty scanner is obsolete. So why bother? Because security will be job #1. Scanning provides a golden opportunity to improve our situational awareness. We must do all that can be done to remove the element of surprise at a survival retreat. A simple scanner is one of those low-cost options that is a significant force multiplier. It …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on RINO Congresswoman Liz Cheney. (See the Wyoming section.) Region-Wide I just picked up a copy of an advertising-supported tabloid that I hadn’t seen before, called Out There Outdoors. It is an outdoor recreation paper that is published in Spokane. It gets fairly …